Hillsborough County commissioners voted unanimously on Thursday, July 16 to add a proposed Fort Hamer Road extension and new I-75 interchange to the county's official long-range transportation plan, a move that could eventually ease congestion at the Big Bend Road interchange used daily by Apollo Beach and Ruskin commuters.
The vote on Comprehensive Plan Amendment CPA 26-11 updates the county's Corridor Preservation Plan Map to include the interchange corridor, located between State Road 674 and Moccasin Wallow Road in the southernmost portion of Hillsborough County, near the Manatee County line, according to the Osprey Observer.
The amendment does not authorize construction. It preserves the corridor while the Florida Department of Transportation completes a feasibility study.
What it means for SouthShore
According to the Osprey Observer's report, the interchange could relieve traffic at the existing I-75 interchanges serving SR 674 and Moccasin Wallow Road as development continues across SouthShore and northern Manatee County. Fort Hamer Road currently ends just south of the Hillsborough County line; reaching the proposed interchange would require extending the road north through Manatee County into Hillsborough.
That extension is already in Manatee County's long-range transportation plans, but construction funding has not been identified.
As we reported Saturday, July 18, Florida lawmakers have approved at least $12.5 million in design funding for the interchange, with project documents targeting a 2028 construction start and 2030 completion, contingent on full funding.
Commissioner Tal Siddique, responding to community concerns that the project would attract unwanted growth, told the Tampa Bay Times in a comment reported in our July 18 coverage: "There's certainly always fears about new infrastructure inviting new growth, but the reality is … you're more responding to growth with a project like this than you are trying to pre-plan."
Commissioner Michael Owen, whose district includes Apollo Beach, was among the commissioners voting on the amendment. The board approved CPA 26-11 unanimously, according to community accounts of the meeting.
Environmental concerns
Critics have raised concerns about potential impacts on wetlands, wildlife habitat, and environmentally sensitive areas near the Little Manatee River watershed. A post in the Wimauma World Facebook group ahead of the vote framed the project as benefiting developer Neal Land & Neighborhoods and threatening the local aquifer and wildlife habitat.
Long road ahead
Even with the plan amendment adopted, the project faces years of additional hurdles. FDOT's feasibility study, which began in spring 2026 and covers the I-75 corridor from the Manatee County line north to the Valroy Road bridge, is not expected to wrap up until winter 2027.
If FDOT determines the interchange is feasible, it would still need to clear environmental review, engineering, design, right-of-way acquisition, and additional state and local approvals before construction could begin. The project is not currently funded for final design, right-of-way acquisition, or construction.
The Hillsborough County Transportation Planning Organization first placed the interchange on its Unfunded Needs list in August 2024, according to Plan Hillsborough records. TPO staff noted at the time that the listing did not commit FDOT or local governments to building the project but triggered the feasibility study now underway.
No public meetings on the FDOT feasibility study have been announced. The next milestone for residents tracking the project is the study's expected completion in winter 2027.
